belle | beau: walt disney world part 1

A while back, my sisters and I took a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
We had the best time, and stayed for ten (!) nights at one of the Disney Resorts.

i highly suggest taking a cross-body style bag so your hands are free to take photos/hug characters. this mimco bag i purchased for the trip was the perfect companion whilst park hoping. shoes that strap your feet in are also a must...flip flops/thongs are a no-no for a full day of walking. i was SO shocked by how many people were hat-less whilst wandering the parks...sun smart is fashionable, people!

Since returning, I have been asked many times to provide suggestions and tips on how to plan a Walt Disney World (WDW) holiday. So with that in mind I have decided to create a series of posts over the next few months dedicated to planning a Walt Disney World Trip.

Firstly, there are probably many things that people aren't aware of when they first start thinking about a trip to WDW. WDW land is double the size of Manhattan. It covers 39 square miles and houses 24 resorts, 4 theme parks and 2 water parks. You could stay there for a year and not see everything there is to do! With a shopping and dining area called Downtown Disney, there is no reason to need to leave the Disney World for your entire stay.

Because my sisters were travelling for several months before and after the Disney portion of the trip (I met them for 3 weeks as I had work commitments) we stayed in one of the value resorts called Pop Century. We found this completely fine as we really only used the room to sleep, and the Dining Hall provided us with fast and cheap meals with a lot of variety. However, if you are after more of a resort type holiday, I would recommend a moderate or deluxe resort as they have a fabulous choice of restaurants, spas and pool areas.

Now onto the Magic Kingdom!

I was lucky enough to spend my birthday at the Magic Kingdom. We used 2 days to explore this park, and we still didn't have enough time to do everything we wanted to.

happy birthday to me! my special birthday badge. it was such a happy day - over 200 strangers smiled and said 'happy birthday brooke' as they passed me. i highly recommend having a birthday at a disney park, you feel so special!

The Magic Kingdom was my favourite park, mostly because of the true "Disney" feel it had to it, even if Walt himself didn't get to see his vision come to life. It has a lot of similarities to the original Disneyland with classic rides such as 'It's a Small World', 'Splash Mountain' and 'Peter Pan's Flight' just to name a few. Magic Kingdom is pretty low on the thrills in term of rides (I am a bit of a thrill seeker), so it was a nice way to ease into the theme park heavy week and a half we were about to have!

the red necklace around my neck is actually a lanyard (stylish, i know...). i used it to carry my camera around, as i only took my canon powershot to the parks. i found this fabulous as it meant i didnt have to dig around in my bag for my camera each time i wanted to use it.